San Diego's infrastructure: How much will the Trump plan deliver locally?

Eduardo Contreras /U-T

The Gilman Drive bridge over Interstate is one of the major components in the new Midcoast Trolley line extension from Old Town to UC San Diego and Westfield UTC. The 11-mile project is due to open in 2021.

The Gilman Drive bridge over Interstate is one of the major components in the new Midcoast Trolley line extension from Old Town to UC San Diego and Westfield UTC. The 11-mile project is due to open in 2021. (Eduardo Contreras /U-T)

With President Donald Trump proposing a $1.5 trillion infrastructure program in his State of the Union address, San Diego agencies and institutions have billions of dollars on their wish lists that some of the money could underwrite.

Why should we care? Construction and repairing roads, public transit lines, sewer and water systems, port improvements, parks and libraries, civic buildings and other public works is what makes American civilization work. But the debate always comes down to priorities and who pays for what.

How much will San Diego County get? Too early to tell. The county represents roughly 1 percent of the nation’s population, so mathematically it should be able to count on getting $15 billion if the money is dispersed strictly on the basis of population. But areas often get more or less than the per capita amount would suggest. [Corrected from earlier $1.5 billion figure]

Who will decide? Also unknown at this point. Traditionally, the federal government, states and localities disperse public funds by formula and on a competitive basis with the winners making the best case for getting their share. But politics, need and urgency usually play a part in the final accounting.

How much do we need? The wishlist is endless, from that broken sidewalk out your front door to that aging bridge and poses a hazard to motorists. It’s easy to rack up billions, even trillions of dollars of need but supplicants at the federal funding trough have to justify their requests.

So, what about the city of San Diego? The largest local government estimates its infrastructure needs for just the next five years at $4.4 billion. The biggest category is water recycling, nearly $1.1 billion and smallest is $750,000 for SDCCU Stadium repairs, even though the facility is due to be closed at the end of this year. Other big numbers include $687.8 million for streets, roads, streetlights and traffic signals; $596.4 million for water lines; $563 million for storm water systems; and $372.9 million for wastewater and sewer systems. The sewer, water and transportation items are usually covered by user fees and others by federal and state grants, hotel room taxes and sales and property taxes.

Wasn’t there a big federal infrastructure plan a while back? You’re thinking of the 2009 American Recovery and Reconstruction Act signed by then-President Barack Obama. It was designed to stimulate the economy during the Great Recession. Of the $787 billion originally earmarked, about $105.3 billion was set aside for infrastructure.

What did San Diego County get? The San Diego Association of Governments compiled a $7.5 billion list of public projects that were “shovel ready.” That total included $2.6 billion in highways, $1.3 billion in public transit, $1.1 billion in local transportation projects and $2.5 billion in local public works. In the end, the region received nearly $1 billion. SANDAG’s latest projections for transportation needs for the next 40 years total $203.8 billion, about half for transit, a quarter for highway improvements, 13 percent for local streets and roads and the remainder for smart-growth incentives, traffic management and debt service.

What was built? Among the big-ticket items: SANDAG received about $300 million for transportation projects. The U.S. Marine Corps got $451 million for a new hospital at Camp Pendleton. The U.S. Southwest Fisheries Science Center in La Jolla got $102 million for a new research complex and research vessel.

What’s next? Congress has to write a bill and appropriate an unknown amount of public funds. If private-sector funds are also involved, it will be up to investment banks and big corporations to ante up. Since this is an election year, it’s not a sure bet that new infrastructure spending will make the cut.

Will it matter? The American Society of Civil Engineers said last year the U.S. needs to spent $4.6 trillion to bring roads, dams, airports and water and electrical systems up to snuff. Its 2017 report card on 16 categories of infrastructure included 13 D’s, 3 C’s and one lonely B (for rail systems). So even a few billion dollars will be a welcome investment — if spent wisely.

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